In the News, Summer 2020: Cinnamon May Help Control Blood Sugar in Prediabetics

High-dose cinnamon supplementation improved blood glucose levels in a recent study of prediabetic adults published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

Participants were given either a cinnamon capsule, containing 300 mg of cinnamon extract and 200 mg of Cinnamomum burmannii (Indonesian cinnamon) powder, or a placebo three times a day for 12 weeks. The researchers observed improvements in fasting plasma glucose and glucose tolerance in the cinnamon group, but not the control group, at the end of the 12-week period.

These findings suggest that cinnamon supplementation could counteract certain defects in glucose metabolism in adult prediabetics, reducing the progression to type 2 diabetes and even returning some individuals to normal glycemic status.

Lead author Giulio R. Romeo, MD, said, “If our findings were to be confirmed in longer and larger studies, cinnamon could be an adjunct therapy – in addition to lifestyle interventions – for preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes in an at-risk population.”

Sources: High-dose cinnamon may help control prediabetes blood glucose levels. Healio, July 22, 2020. healio.com/news/endocrinology/20200722/highdose-cinnamon-may-help-control-prediabetes-blood-glucose-levels.

Romeo GR, et al. Influence of cinnamon on glycemic control in subjects with prediabetes: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the Endocrine Society, 2020. doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvaa09.